bombing of Gibraltar

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daveh
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bombing of Gibraltar

#1

Post by daveh » 24 May 2003, 20:40

Can anyone supply details of or references on the bombing of Gibraltar in WW2.
I believe that the Vichy French raided Gibraltar, is this correct?
The Italian Air Force undertook raid using the Piaggio P 108 further details would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance

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Juha Tompuri
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#2

Post by Juha Tompuri » 25 May 2003, 17:35

Hi!

Here´s something from the past:
http://www.thirdreichforum.com/viewtopi ... highlight=

Regards, Juha


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Kaiser
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#3

Post by Kaiser » 08 Jun 2003, 19:05

Did Germany ever consider a ground invasion through Spain? Or would this have been tactically impossible? You would think Spain might be willing, as they have been wanting the return of the rock from the British...

i always thought that if the Axis could control the Rock then they could control what went in and out of the Mediteranean, or is this too simplistic on my part?

/K

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Polynike
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#4

Post by Polynike » 08 Jun 2003, 23:58

Operation Felix was never activated because of franco'd negative to allow hitler to move troops through sapin. there is a thread ont he forum with more detail.

as regards the bombing despite the raids very few hits were recored as the rock provides a very narrow target roughly 3 by 2 miles.

gabriel pagliarani
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#5

Post by gabriel pagliarani » 20 Jun 2003, 11:48

"Ai primi di giugno 12 SM. 79 si portavano sul campo trampolino di Istres in Francia, e da qui nella serata dal 4 giugno, 10 trimotori decollavano diretti alla lontana base di Gibilterra per una missione ai margini dell'autonomia e delle possibilità di riuscita. Si concluse positivamente col siluramento di navi alla fonda e col grande risultato morale e tecnico di aver portato a termine una così impegnativa operazione. Tre aerei erano costretti ad atterrare in Spagna per sabotaggi operati nelle officine aeronautiche SIAI e Agusta alle pompe di prelievo carburante."
From the site:
http://www.italia-rsi.org/farsianr/anrarena.htm
Translation:
" At the firsts of June '44, nos.12 S.M.79 reached the mid-way Istres base in France. From there in the evening of June 4, nos.10 3-engineds taked off towards the far Gibraltar base, a mission close to range limits and only few chances of success. The mission ended positively after the successful torpedoing of the ships anchored in the harbour with great satisfaction for overhelming a so dangerous and technically dfficult mission. 3 planes were obliged to land in Spain by cause of sabotages done previously at fuel pumps during handling in SIAI and Agusta factories"

ANR northern fascist rebel air force had finally success in attacking Gibraltar, after years of failed attempts.

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Graham Clayton
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#6

Post by Graham Clayton » 11 Apr 2011, 06:40

There were a couple of ineffective Vichy raids on the 5th and 6th of July 1940, in retaliation for the Mers-El-Kebir attack, followed by a more substained series of attacks in late September 1940.

I found an interesting reference in a LIFE magazine article from 1938 which stated:

"Gibraltar is oddly immune from from attack by bombing planes, because the uprearing Rock causes peculair air currents that make flying over it extremely uncertain."
"Air superiority is a condition for all operations, at sea, in land, and in the air." - Air Marshal Arthur Tedder.

gttf
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#7

Post by gttf » 03 Aug 2011, 22:25

hello, there were several raids by Regia Aeronautica on Gibraltar, 1940-1943

1940: 3 raids; 18/07/1940, 3 SM82; 25/07/1940, 3 SM82; 20/08/1940: 2 SM82 (1 shot down)
1941: 5 raids; 5/06/1941; 12/06/1941; 11/07/1941; 13/07/1941; 14/07/1941. Each mission, 2-3 SM82
1942: 6 raids; 1/04/1942: 3 SM82; 28/06/1942: 5 P108; 3/07/1942: 1 P108 (missing); 24/09/1942: 2 P108; 20/10/1942: 4 P108; 21/10/1942: 3 P108
1943: 1 raid; 19/06/1943: 9 SM79 torpedo-bombers (only 2 on the target)
1944: 1 raid: 4/06/1944: 10 SM79 torpedo-bombers (ANR) (9 on the target)

Although valuable from the aeronautical point of view, their influence on the operations was negligible

Regards

FAbrizio

PS Of course, you have to consider also the 9 attacks by assault craft of the Regia Marina (from september 1940 to august 1943): 14 merchant ships (76000 grt) were sunk or damaged

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Andy H
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#8

Post by Andy H » 04 Aug 2011, 11:43

Hi GTTF

Do you have the squadron numbers for the aircraft that took part in the various attacks?

Regards

Andy H

gttf
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#9

Post by gttf » 05 Aug 2011, 00:22

Hello Andy, in the following what I found:

Raids in 1940 and 1941 were all carried out by 32. Stormo BT (Bombardamento Terrestre); the raid on april 1942 was performed by SM82 managed by 47. Squadriglia of the 37. Gruppo Trasporti. The P108 which attacked from June to october 1942 were part of 274 Squadriglia BGR (Bombardamento a Grande Raggio) the only unit of Regia Aeronautica equipped with the four-engine bomber by Piaggio.
AFAIK, the SM79 which attacked on June 1943 (leaving from Istres, in Southern France) were part of a provisional unit, the Reparto Speciale Aerosiluranti (Torpedo-Bomber Special Group) which was equipped with 10 SM79 bis, a version more powerful and with a wider range. The crew came from different torpedo-bombers units, in particular:
- 4 from 130 Gruppo Aerosiluranti
- 3 from 132 Gruppo Aerosiluranti
- 2 from 1. Nucleo Addestramento Aerosiluranti
- 1 from 3. Nucleo Addestramento Aerosiluranti
The operation was called as "Operazione Scoglio".
Finally, the attack on June 1944 was performed by SM79bis of the Gruppo Aerosiluranti Buscaglia of the ANR (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, the air force of the puppet state lead by Mussolini after the Italian Armistice of september 1943). Buscaglia was the name of the most famous torpedo-bomber ace of the Regia Aeronautica, which had been shot down in november 1942 over Bougie (Algeria); believed as KIA, he survived, was taken as POW and after the Italian Armistice, joined the Regia Aeronautica loyal to the King, fighting alongside the Allies: he died in a flight accident on a Italian Baltimore bomber in august 1944. The ANR Group changed its name to Faggioni, another famous torpedo-bomber ace, KIA in april 1944, fighting in Gruppo Buscaglia, during a night attack at Anzio.

Hope this helps

Fabrizio

murx
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#10

Post by murx » 05 Aug 2011, 00:47

The Vichy Government was understandably not happy at the turn of events at Mers-El-Kebir and other ports. The British had killed twelve hundred French sailors who, just two weeks earlier, had been their allies and in addition they seized, immobilised, or sunk a large part of the French navy. Many French citizens who had previously supported the British, felt betrayed and alienated. Petain broke off diplomatic relations with Britain and two days later the French captured three British merchant ships in retaliation. Further skirmishes between the former Allies occurred for the next week the two most notable of which were the bombing of Gibraltar by the French and the torpedoing of the French battleship Richelieu at Dakar.

http://www.combinedops.com/mers%20el%20kabir.htm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... rgive.html

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phylo_roadking
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#11

Post by phylo_roadking » 05 Aug 2011, 01:47

Daveh, from Wiki...
On 18 July 1940, after the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kebir by the British, the Vichy government authorized a bombing raid of Gibraltar as a response. Apparently many of the French pilots still found it hard to attack their former ally. The attack was generally half-hearted and most of the bombs were dropped in the sea.[citation needed] Little damage was reported to have been done.

On Tuesday, 24 September, the Italian STEFANI News Agency reported: "As a reprisal for the bombardment of Dakar yesterday morning, one-hundred-and-twenty French aircraft based in Morocco attacked Gibraltar." On the same day, the United Press Agency reported: "The French government has issued an official denial of reports, according to which French aircraft were said to have attacked Gibraltar. Up until now, no reprisals have been undertaken." But the United Press report ended on an ominous note with: "French reprisals are imminent."[13]

Again, on the same day, the Vichy French government issued orders for the naval base and city of Gibraltar to be bombarded. As a result, six bomber squadrons of the Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l'Air de Vichy) and four squadrons of the Vichy French Navy (Marine nationale de Vichy) were employed in the operation. The sixty-four bombers flew from bases in Oran, Tafaroui (in Algeria), Meknes, Mediouna, and Port Lyautey (in Morocco). The French action was approved by both the German Armistice Commission and the Italian Armistice Commission.[14]

No British aircraft were encountered and much damage was done in the area south of the fortress. The South Mole and a large ship in the harbour were heavily damaged. In the northern part of Gibraltar, fires broke out.[14]

On 25 September, the French returned with a larger force of eighty-three bombers to cause additional damages to the naval base and harbour installations. Again, aircraft of the British Royal Air Force made no appearance. However, the French crews did report encountering heavy anti-aircraft fire. One Leo bomber was lost and thirteen other aircraft were lightly damaged during the two days of bombing attacks.[14] The British armed trawler HMT Stella Sirius was sunk by bombs.

The attack on 25 September was to prove to be the last air assault launched against Gibraltar by Vichy forces.
Those citations are from Piekałkiewicz's Sea War: 1939-1945
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Ironmachine
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#12

Post by Ironmachine » 05 Aug 2011, 08:21

During the raid on 12/06/1941 one of the SM.82 made a mistake and bombed La Línea de la Concepción in Spain. There were 5 killed and many wounded. Spanish sources state that the bomber returned to Algeciras Bay on 13, 14 and 15 June, this last time again dropping its bombs in Spanish territory.
http://www.andalucia.cc/adn/1197doc.htm

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Andy H
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Re: bombing of Gibraltar

#13

Post by Andy H » 05 Aug 2011, 22:05

Thanks Fabrizio for the information I requested

Regards

Andy H

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